The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Eating Behavior and Weight Change

Study Description:

We will recruit previous NIDDK study participants as well as newly recruited individuals from the general population to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the impact of psychosocial stressors that impact eating behavior and weight. The study will describe the relationship between specific COVID-19 related stressors (e.g. fear of becoming sick) and self-rated measures of food insecurity, unpredictability, perceived stress, behavioral health dysfunction, eating behaviors and weight change among a range of participants including previous NIDDK-Phoenix study volunteers and various newly recruited volunteers from the general global population. Participants will be invited to enroll in a follow- up study which will involve completing additional surveys on a monthly basis for 12 months. A smaller U.S. only cohort of these participants may also enroll in a 2 minute daily at-home survey study for 1-weekthat will utilize Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to examine stress and eating behavior in real-time, in the home environment. Participants will complete an online consent form and online survey through a secure weblink (REDCap). Because the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly changing, survey data collection is an effective way to measure outcomes at multiple time points with relatively low subject burden.

Objectives:

Primary Objective: to examine the food environment and psychosocial stressors related to COVID-19 with self-reported measures of behavioral health symptoms, eating behaviors and weight.

Secondary Objective: to determine whether sociodemographic, existing behavioral health dysfunction, or environmental condition moderates this relationship and to identify risk and resilience factors among study participants regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating behavior and weight.

Endpoints:

Primary Endpoints: measures of eating behavior and body weight. These endpoints will be measured repeatedly using an online platform (REDCap) at baseline and then monthly for up to 12 months. We also plan to examine these COVID-19 related measures with previously collected phenotypic data (e.g. biological samples and behavioral data) from former NIDDK-Phoenix participants.

Secondary Endpoints: in addition to those outlined as primary endpoints, we will examine data gathered from demographic forms and additional questionnaires measuring environmental conditions and psychosocial stress.

• INCLUSION CRITERIA:

In order to be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all the following criteria:

• 18 years of age or older
• Able to read and write English
• Consistent access to computer or mobile devices connected to the internet
• Able to provide informed consent online and/or in-person

In order to be eligible to participate in the EMA arm of the study, an individual must meet all the following criteria:

• Access to a mobile device with WI-FI and data

Exclusion criteria

• Non-English-speaking individuals.

Non-English-speaking subjects as a population will be excluded from participation in this protocol. The primary aim of the protocol relates to the questionnaires administered to the participants online. There are currently no validated, translated forms of these questionnaires available; therefore, we will restrict enrollment to English speaking subjects only.